by Jus Accardo
“I won’t lie. When we first met, I looked at you and saw her. My Kori. But after spending some time with you, I realize the only things you have in common with her is physical appearance. The sound of your voice…your talent for art. Aside from that, you couldn’t be more different.” For some reason, that sent a twinge of pain through my heart—which was stupid. That’s what I wanted, right? For him to realize that I wasn’t the girl he loved.
“It had to have been hard for you, for Noah… But for your own sanity, you have to let her go. Trust me when I tell you, holding on will poison you.”
He watched me for a moment before breaking into a sad smile. “Your mom?”
“My mom,” I confirmed, my throat thick.
He nodded. “I’m sorry. If she was anything at all like our Cora, this world lost an amazing mind and a bright soul.”
His words were meant to comfort, I was sure, but they had the opposite effect. In that moment it became clear. Why he and Dylan were doing this. Fate had stolen someone important from them. Moving on with their lives, knowing that person was still out there, at least in some form, must be agony. How could you continue on blindly with your life having that information? Knowing that with the right amount of planning, and some luck, there was a chance you could see her again. Be with her. I almost understood why Dylan broke the rules and went to search for Ava. Obviously, it didn’t excuse his methods or the trail of carnage he’d left in his wake, but the sentiment was forgivable…relatable, even.
I would do it. If given a chance, I would find her…
And couldn’t I? I subtly glanced down at the cuff on my wrist. Say our Infinity Division could muster up a quick prep method for the travel. Would it be so bad if Dylan didn’t give us the key? Would it be that horrible? Having a chance to see Mom again?
“Dylan has killed these people before, right? This Tribunal?”
Cade nodded. “His MO hasn’t changed until now. Normally he goes after them, then works on tracking down Ava. He either doesn’t find her, or finds her and, for whatever reason, fails to take her with him. He usually takes his time. He’s a twisted bastard. You saw what he did to Penny Bloom; he likes to make them suffer. He wants to punish them for what they did to him. He can skip whenever he wants…whenever he feels vindicated.”
“So what’s changed? He’s having you guys track down Ava while he takes his revenge on the Tribunal. It’s almost like he’s rushing. Like he’s…”
“On a timeline.” Cade finished. He smacked his hand against his head and groaned. “I still say it makes no sense. Unless… What if there’s something wrong with the main cuff? Something that limits the time he—therefore, by extension, we—spend in one place?”
I threw up my hands. “Don’t ask me. Until a day ago, I thought the world was round.”
His lip twitched with the barest hint of a grin. “Or the cuff could simply be failing. From what I gathered, they weren’t meant to be used like this. Continuous with no maintenance. Plus, the set Dylan stole was the first working trial. Who knows how long something like that was meant to last?”
A few hours ago I’d been desperate to get this thing off my wrist. Now, the possibility that it was broken, that certain scenarios might be impossible, chilled me to the core. “Well, what would that mean exactly? What would it change?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure.”
I pushed the weird mix of elation and fear aside. Whatever might or might not be wrong with the cuff, and what it could mean for my future—my life, even—wasn’t the most pressing issue at the moment. “We know he took the other two people—”
“Miles and Odette.”
“Miles and Odette,” I repeated. “If he’s gotten to them already, how can we track them?”
His expression turned stormy. “I don’t know that we can. We got lucky with Penny Bloom. What are the chances—”
“Think,” I urged. “There has to be something. Anything.”
He squeezed his eyes closed hard for a moment before shaking his head violently. “We don’t know anything about this world’s Tribunal.”
“Fine. You don’t know this world’s version of your Tribunal—but you do know your brother.” I grabbed his hand and tugged him off the chair. “You’ve been through this before. Think hard. Where would he bring them? How would he do it?”
For a minute I was sure he’d argue that I was wasting time, but instead, he tilted his head slightly to the left, then let it fall back. After a moment, he said, “I don’t know much about our Odette Ferguson, but Miles Hann had several run-ins on the base with Dylan after Ava died. He was always getting into something. Always finding trouble. Hann never liked him.” He dropped his gaze to mine. “I think I have an idea.”
...
We left Noah a note and set out for downtown. Cannon Park Cemetery, to be exact. There was no traffic—which made sense. Six p.m. on a Sunday evening in late October didn’t find many people out and about—allowing us to make it in near-record time.
“You still haven’t told me why we came here,” I said, unfastening my seat belt and pushing open the passenger’s side door. There was a chill in the air that had nothing to do with the October breeze, and we were losing the light. On one hand, I wanted to find Miles Hann as much as Cade did. On the other, I was worried we’d find him—and it would be too late. “Is this a typical hangout for your Miles?”
Cade ignored me and scanned the area. When he found what he was apparently looking for, he darted forward without saying a word. I had no choice but to follow. Down the main path and around to the mausoleum section. When he came to the gaudy granite enclosures, he slowed, stopping to inspect each one. “We’re looking for the Hann family plot.” He moved to the next stone enclosure. “Dylan’s standard threat to Miles was that he would bury him one day. As far as I know, he hasn’t had the chance yet.”
“What makes you think he’d bury him in his family’s mausoleum, though?”
Cade stopped for a second and frowned. “It’s Dylan. The guy never misses an opportunity to go for the dramatic.”
He started forward again and I followed, glancing around. Kids were known to come down here and party on the weekends because, what’s more entertaining than living it up in a place of eternal rest, right? When we’d moved here, I tried once. Came down and tried to pretend I fit in. After about twenty minutes, though, it became obvious I didn’t belong, having no interest in ingesting obscene amounts of cheap beer and jumping from headstone to headstone. My time was preferably spent vandalizing walls and buildings. You know…just your normal, everyday teen.
Pointing to the far end of the first row, he said, “Start on that end. I’ll go this way. See if anything turns up.”
“Gotcha.” I kept my head high and started walking. There was no need to tell Cade that places like this now turned the blood in my veins to cold molasses. That simply driving past a cemetery nearly induced an unparalleled sense of panic.
We separated and began to search. I counted down from one hundred as I went, to keep myself focused. I walked along the path that led to the gardens, then circled back and paced the grass closer to the woods, scanning the names on each stone building. I did this three times, insanely hoping that I might have missed something. It seemed hopeless. There was nothing to see except the shadows of old ghosts and dying grass.
Cade caught up with me on my last pass. “It was a long shot. At least we tried.” He tilted his head to the side, studying me. “You okay? You look like you’re going to throw up.”
I nodded. Or, maybe I shook my head. I couldn’t be sure because my world was on the verge of spinning into oblivion. “I—yeah. I have a thing about cemeteries.”
He frowned. “My Kori hated them, too.” Hitching his thumb over his shoulder, he said, “Let’s head back. See if Noah had any luck.”
I nodded and let him lead me around to the main path. We were almost back to the front gate when I noticed something in the distance. It looked like another mausoleum, set
apart from the others. As much as I hated spending another minute there, someone’s life was on the line. We were here. It would be irresponsible not to check. “Did you look at that one?”
He looked from me to the small building, then took off at a dead run. I followed, my heart kicking into overdrive.
Cade skidded to a stop a few feet ahead of me, in front of the small chipped stone construct. The door was slightly ajar, and dried muddy footprints marred the otherwise immaculate entryway.
The name at the top said Hann.
Chapter Thirteen
Cade dove for the door and hurled himself through the entry. I was right on his heels, breath held and pulse pounding. On each of the three walls were two large marble doors. The two at the back had names carved into them, as did one to our right. The one on the left side, however, was different. Like the others, there was a name on the door—except this one was written in large, bold black magic marker.
Here lies Miles Hann. A bastard in every world…
“He buried him,” I said. In fact, I think I must have said it several times. Over and over, like a prayer, as Cade worked to get the tomb door open. Even though Cade had told me about Dylan’s threat, I could still hardly believe it. Who did something like this? The same person who would tie Penny Bloom to an uprooted tree hanging over a cliff, that’s who. The same person who strapped a time bomb to my wrist just to get me to play his sick little game.
It took a few minutes, but he got the door open, and lying where the casket would have normally been, was a man.
“Oh my God!” I positioned myself next to Cade and we each grabbed one of Miles’s arms. When we managed to get him onto the ground, he wasn’t moving. The air grew artic. His skin was unnaturally pale and cold to the touch without as much as a flicker of movement. “Cade…”
“Watch out,” he said, shouldering me aside, then dropping his head to Miles’s chest. I saw his shoulders tense about a half second before he bolted upright, slamming both hands down and beginning to pump. “No.” He huffed as he continued compressions. One. Two. Three. “Breathe.”
I touched a finger to the back of Miles’s hand. It was cold. Far too cold for there to be a chance at resuscitation. “Cade.” I placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to gently pull him back.
It was pointless. Cade was determined—despite the already obvious outcome—to save Miles. He violently shook me off and cursed, slamming both fists down on the man’s chest. Noah was the loud, opinionated one, but it was becoming more and more obvious that Cade had a tightly controlled, volatile streak. Like his brother, there was darkness there. Maybe a different kind of darkness, but still. It simply needed the right thing to coax it out.
“No!” Cade pinched his nose and blew into Miles’s mouth. A second later, he pressed an ear to the man’s chest. “No,” he repeated. “Not another one.”
He began compressions again, pumping Miles’s chest several times before leaning in to breathe into his mouth. But it was too late. It’d probably been too late for a while now.
“Cade,” I whispered, moving to sit in front of him. His eyes glazed over, and he kept his attention on Miles, still compressing his chest as though any moment the man would open his eyes and take that lifesaving breath of air.
But it wasn’t going to happen.
“Come on, Miles.” He ignored me and kept going, pounding on the man’s chest. Or, maybe he just didn’t hear my voice. It was obvious that he was lost in his own world. The pain etched on his face, the fear—the fury—made my chest hurt. I may have only met Cade Granger, but his dedication to saving these people, to putting an end to his brother’s madness, was palatable. He knew he’d lost Miles. I could see it in his eyes. Yet still he tried. Seemingly possessed by the uncontrollable need to change something that couldn’t be changed. To fix something he needed desperately to control but could not.
“It’s too late,” I tried again. “He’s gone. This isn’t—”
“No!” he roared, and began pumping harder. Beneath the sound of his breath, I heard something crack.
“Cade!” His head whipped around, his gaze pinning me with a borderline feral look. I stood my ground—well, kneeled it, actually—and met his stare with one of my own. “You can’t save him. He’s already gone. Snap out of it, soldier! Focus on Odette.”
For a minute I wasn’t sure he’d listen. There was so much fight in his eyes, and he was wound tighter than a guitar string. Even though this was pointless, I respected him for it. For having the courage, the drive, to fight against what seemed to be inevitable. Cade was a rare breed of people. I knew because I’d met so many. Having moved around the world, I’d been subjected to every kind of person out there. He wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the definition, but he was real, and he was good.
After a moment, he let out a breath and slumped back against the marble wall. Dropping his head into his hands, he sighed. “His blood is on my hands.”
“This is on Dylan,” I said, rising onto my knees. I leaned forward and grabbed the sides of his face, forcing him to look at me. “Not you. You didn’t bring him here. You didn’t have a hand in ending his life.”
“Didn’t I?” He lifted his gaze to mine, and I swallowed back the growing lump in my throat. His eyes swirled with a storm of rage and pain. “Everything Dylan does, every life he ends and every spirit he breaks, is possible only because I set him free.” He let his gaze fall back to Miles.
I, on the other hand, did my best not to look. Like Cade, I felt guilty, but it was more than that. If I looked at Miles, lying there as pale as paper and totally still, ice cold and stiff, I might lose it. I would have to admit that we’d failed. That an innocent man paid the price with his life. That there was a good chance we’d fail again… That I would pay the ultimate price.
First Miles, then me…
It was the first harsh dose of reality, bringing my own mortality into question. Cade stood, taking a single step away from Miles’s body. Without looking at me, he said, “We need to move.”
Numb, I nodded and climbed to my feet. I was about to ask where he thought we should start when my cell started ringing. “Hello?”
“Got a lead on Ava’s family,” Noah said on the other end. “Also inadvertently found Odette.”
“That’s great!” I covered the speaker and turned to Cade. “Noah found Odette.”
He let out a breath. “Thank God.”
“—me finish for fucks sake.”
I rolled my eyes. “Finish.”
“Don’t get too excited about Odette. She’s already dead.” He paused for a moment and something crackled, followed by a chewing sound. “Locals got a call a few hours ago about a body floating down the Manard River. They just identified her. It’s all over the news.”
I didn’t say anything, but as it turned out, I hadn’t needed to. The look on my face gave it away. “It’s too late, isn’t it?” Cade growled. He tightened his fists and kicked at the mausoleum wall with jarring force. The sound of it, a muted thud that echoed through the small space, sent my stomach roiling.
Handing him the cell, I stepped through the doorway to wait outside in order to give him some privacy. I didn’t know why I did it. Maybe it was the look in his eyes. That faint but unmistakable tint of defeat mixed with that tiny spark of madness always present in his brother’s eyes. I didn’t know Cade well enough to intrude on something like that.
After a few moments, Cade stepped from the mausoleum entryway with his shoulders squared and his head held high. A true soldier. In that moment, despite not being his Kori, I was proud of him. If I’d been in his place, losing a war of my own waging, time after time with what seemed to be no end in sight, would I have had the strength to keep going? Would I be able to face the enemy?
“Noah said Fort Hannity knows about the discovery of Odette Ferguson’s body. Seeing as we’d given the commander her name, as well as Miles, and having sent Penny Bloom to the base for safekeeping, it’s a sure bet he knows what
we’re doing.”
“And where we’re not.” The commander’s instructions had been clear. We were to remain at the house under all circumstances.
“This just got ten times more complicated.” He folded his arms and leaned against the smooth marble pillar beside the doorway. “For starters, the commander will get involved. There’s a chance Dylan will think we went to them for help. He—”
Still in Cade’s hand, my cell started ringing again. When he glanced down at it, he frowned. Handing it to me, he said, “This won’t be good…”
The caller ID said Brysen Simmons. “Oh, shit…” I took a deep breath, then lifted the cell to my ear. “Hello?”
I had to pull the phone away from my ear because the first few moments of the call were a jumble of incoherent screams and grumbles. Every time I opened my mouth to provide an explanation—albeit a poor one—the commander would begin again. All I could do was stand there and let him finish.
By the time I hung up, even Cade, still standing a few feet away, was cringing. “That sounded rough.”
“He’s not happy,” I confirmed. “Says I disobeyed a direct order from a superior. That you and Noah are bad news and I’m to return home immediately.”
“He’s right, Kori.” He pushed off the building and took a step toward me. “We don’t mean you or anyone else here any harm, but the shitstorm we brought with us is trouble. You should listen to your superior and head home.”
It was my turn to fold my arms. I screwed myself up and stood tall, fixing my most challenging glare on him. “Technically he’s not my superior.”
“No.” Cade shook his head slowly. There was a spark of defiance in his eyes. “I suppose he’s not.”
“I make my own choices,” I continued. “Anyone who knows me is well aware that I’m perfectly capable of getting myself into trouble without outside help.”
Again, he shook his head. “I don’t doubt that.”
“You’re right, though.” I sensed that for once he wasn’t going to protest my involvement. I wasn’t sure if he was finally learning to respect me or if he’d just given up on keeping me safe, and I didn’t really care. What mattered was that I was a part of the team, and there was nothing Cade was going to do to stop that. “With the commander, and the entire base involved, this just got infinitely more difficult.” I sighed. “Your Tribunal is accounted for. It looks like there’s just one thing left to do.”